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Gerald Dickens is a great great grandson of the author, Charles Dickens. He has been working as an actor, director and producer for many years. In 1993 he created his first one-man show, a theatrical performance of A Christmas Carol inspired by Charles’ own energetic readings of the 1860s.
A fascination in the life and works of his subject led him to write and direct further one-man shows including Mr Dickens is Coming!, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities, as well as some of the short stories, including the supernatural tale ‘The Signalman’. It was while researching the background to the latter performance that Gerald became fascinated in the circumstances behind the great Staplehurst rail disaster which took place on the 9th June 1865.
In the resulting book, Dickens and Staplehurst. A Biography of a Rail Crash, Gerald investigates the circumstances that led to the accident, both from Charles’ point of view, as well as a technical one. From a study of Charles Dickens’ life to the conclusions of the various official reports, Gerald’s book is a comprehensive study of the tragedy at Staplehurst.
On 15 June, Gerald will be chatting to Lucinda Hawksley (who is also one of his relatives…) on the Inside Story. Join them for a truly Dickensian Goldster event.